About 234 million tires are discarded annually. Very few of these tires are recycled and most (over 82%) are either illegally dumped or end up in land fills.
In the mining industry large dump trucks are commonly used. Some of these trucks require off road tires which are three feet wide and 10 feet in diameter. Such tires weigh in excess of 3000. Because of their large size, such tires pose special disposal problems.
Several prior art devices have been disclosed which have been designed to slice tire casings circumferentially. For example, Peterson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,830,120, discloses a tire cutting apparatus which utilizes a mandrel to push against the interior sidewalls of a tire casing. The Peterson mandrel forces the outer crown of a tire casing against a rotating knife. While the Peterson apparatus is capable of cutting small tires its design is impractical for handling large tire casings.
Tupper, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,450,738, discloses a tire splitting apparatus that also utilizes a mandrel. While the Tupper, et al. apparatus is capable of slicing somewhat larger tire casings it is difficult to load and incapable of slicing tires with large widths and diameters.
Snow, U.S. Pat. No. 3,701,296, discloses an apparatus for cutting strips from vehicle tires. The Snow apparatus also utilizes a mandrel. While the Snow apparatus is simple in use and operation, its mandrel design makes it effective for slicing only small automotive tires casings.
Finally, Bullinger, U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,316, discloses an apparatus for cutting tire carcasses into individual annular elements. The Bullinger apparatus also utilizes an interior mandrel and is adapted only for cutting small tires.
Those concerned with these and other problems recognize the need for an improved tire splitting apparatus capable of slicing large tire casings circumferentially.